Dipping-needle.



No. 887,140. 'PATENTED MAY 12, 190s. P. H. STBDMAN.

DIPPING NEEDLE. APPLICATION FILED AUG. so, 1901.

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PASCAL II. STEDMANHOF NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND.

DIPPING-NEEDLE.

Application filed August 30, 1901.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 12, 1908.

Serial No. 73,837.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PASCAL ll. STEDMAN, of the city and county of Newport, in the State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Dipping- Needles; and I do hereby declare the following specification, taken in `connection with the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the same, to be a full, clear, and exact descri tion thereof.

e object of the invention is to improve the construction and facilitate the use of the instrument known as a dipping needle. I

To that end one feature of the invention consists in improved means for clamping the pivoted needle to hold it against vibration on its pivots.

Another feature of the invention consists in improved means for suspending or holding the instrument while in use in making observations.

' Dipping needles have heretofore been provided with a pair of clamping springs arranged to normally bear against the needle, one on each side thereof, to hold the needle against vibration, and with a wedge arranged to slide between the upper contracted ends of said springs, said wedge being provided with an actuating rod extending through the case of the instrument to the outside thereof. The

artswere so combined and arranged that when the actuating rod was drawn outward it drew the wedge between the contracted u er ends of the clamping springs and thus forced the clamping ends of the springs apart so as to unclamp and release the needle, and when the rod was pushed inward it pushed the wedge from between the contracted upper ends of the springs and thus released the springs and permitted them to clamp the needle. l/Vith this construction, while 1t was possible to push the wedge-rod inward with one of the Alingers of the hand in which the instrument was held, it was practically impossible to pull the rod outward with the hand that held the instrument, and when it was desired to force the springs apart to release the needle from the clamping action of the springs it was necessary to usebothhands, one to hold the instrument and the other to pull out the rod. This was often very inconvenient. Again, this old construction was such that the needle was either positively clamped or completely releasec There was no way of controlling the springs or regulating the action thereof upon the needle.l Another objection to the old construction referred to was that the upper ends of the springs were contracted or made to approach each other by bending the same with rectanj gular reverse bends so as to cause the clampj ing portion of the spring to be offset to the body portion thereof. With this construction the springs were very liable to be broken, which was often a source of great annoyance.

By the construction and organization'o parts hereinafter described, the clamping or unclamping of the needle may be readily effected with the same hand in which the instrument is held, thus leaving the other hand free for other purposes, the action of the clamping springs may be regulated or controlled and so that they may be employed to check the vibration of the needle and thus l hasten the time of its coming to rest before ositively clamping it against movement; and finally the construction is such that the clamping springs may be made without any sharp or reverse bends.

As heretofore constructed dipping needles have commonly been provided with a large hoop or bail pivoted to the case ing or holding the same. This has been found objectionable for various reasons. By the improved means for suspending and holding the instrument herein described, the instrument while suspended with sufficient freedom to enable it to hang vertically is more under control and may be more readily held against excessive lateral swinging. The present construction also facilitates the use of the instrument with one hand, including the clamping and unclamping of the needle.

The invention further consists of certain features to be hereinafter described and recited in the claims.

Referring to the drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation of a dipping needle embodying my invention, Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a top viewA partly in section, and Figs. 4, 5, 6, 7 8 9 and 1-0are details.

The instrument comprises a casing A composed of an annular metallic ring a and the sides f) Y), one or both of which are of glass. The ring a is provided with an annular inwardly projecting flange a on which is formed the scale indicating degrees with relation to the horizon. Secured to the flange a are two inwardly projecting arms c c at the j inner ends of which the needle d is pivoted.

e, e are the clamping springs which are sefor suspend-i springs may Y butI without positively cured at their upper ends to the arms c, as by the screwsff, as shown in Fig. 2. The lower or inner ends of the springs e are arranged to bear on the needle (Z, one on each side thereof. Preferably the inner ends of the springs are perforated so that the pivot of the needle may pass therethrough, and so that the bear on the needle on each side of its pivot. The springs e are simply bent or constructed so that when secured to the arms c they will, when left free, normally spring toward each other and so to clamp the needle. Projecting through the ring a and the part g', which may be secured directly or indirectly to the ring or casing, is a rotary shaft 7L, which is provided at its inner end with a double cam i, and at its outer end with a starwheel r or similar device for conveniently rotating said shaft. With this construction and arrangement of parts, when the double cam i is in the position shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the springs e e are free to spring towards each other and so as to clamp the needle and positively hold it against vibration. l/Vhen it is desired to release the needle, the shaft 7L is given a quarter turn in either direction by means of the star-wheel 7c, which causes the double cam to bear against the springs e and force them apart, thereby releasing the needle Which is then free to turn or vibrate upon its pivots. If now it be desired to check or partially check the vibration of the needle to hasten its coming to a position of rest or for any other purpose the shaft Zzwith its cam may be partially turned so as to permit the springs e to come in contact with the sides of the needle and so as to act as a brake thereon, clamping the same, and then if desired turned back to withdraw the springs and release the needle and permit it to vibrate through a diminished arc. When the needle has come to a position of rest the shaft ZL may be given a complete quarter turn to release the springs completely and permit them to positively clamp the needle in position.

For the purpose of suspending the instrument in a pendent position, the ring a, is provided with two studs or projections Z Z, one on each side thereof, as shown in Figs. 2, 6, and 7, and by means of which projections the instrument may be loosely held between the thumb and finger, and so that it will be freely suspended.. These studs or projections Z Z may be made integral with the ring a, as shown in Fig. 2, but it is preferred to form them one on each of a pair of clips or clampplates m m, which said plates are clamped upon the ring c, asl shownv in Figs. 6 and '7, With this construction, if a projection Z l should be broken off, all that is necessary is to remove the corresponding clip m and substitute a new one. Itis also preferred, in order to prevent the discomfort which might result from holding the thumb and finger directly in contact with the small projections Z Z, to employ a U-shaped clip n of metal or other suitable material, provided with the indentations n to receive the projections Z. The clip n is thereby in effect pivoted on the ring aA and may be arranged as shown in Figs. 2 and 4, or may be turned down to one side. When the clip n is employed the instrument is held and suspended as before between the thumb and finger, which are placed upon the clip substantially in line with the projections Z. It will be observed that with this construction and arrangement if the instrument be held in the manner described, say by the thumb and middle finger, the fore finger will be free to manipulate the star-wheel Zr which is conveniently located for the purpose, and thus the instrument may be used, and the 1 needle clamped and unclamped with one hand, leaving the other hand free at all times for other uses.

It is evident that if clamping spring to be operated by the cam l may be employed, but it is preferred to em-A ploy two springs one on each side of the needle.

What I claim and ters Patent is:

1. In a dipping needle, the combination, with the pivoted needle, o a pair of clamping springs adapted to engage the needle, a rotatable shaft provided with a cam for operating said springs and tatingsaid shaft.

2. In a dipping needle, the combination j with the casing provided with oppositely arjranged studs or projections by means of which the instrument may be held or suspended, the pivoted needle, a clamping spring, and means for operating said spring to clamp or release the needle, said spring operating means having a partlocated in proX- imity to the oppositely arranged studs or projections, whereby the instrument may be held and the clamping spring operated by one hand.,

with means for ro- PASCAL H. STEDMAN.

desired only a single desire to secure by Let- 

